The Essential Jesus - Day 5 The Big Church

1 Peter 2:4-10
Why is today's reading entitled the big church? What is it that makes it 'big?'
This must be some of what we will discover as we go through the coming readings.
Today we read Peter's letter on what it means to be in ministry-to be building a community of life.

This Jesus is not a god made by people that needs to be carried about because it is made of stone or metal or wood, rather Jesus is alive and carries himself about doing those things which he recognizes as his father's will. What Peter does in this writing is let us know that we too are alive and have the task of being part of this life-giving ministry. That makes us a very 'big' church. We are many people spread over many countries, continents and centuries and yet we are built together into this one "spiritual house."

That is the difficulty for some - how can individuals disconnected hold together to over time and space never having met each other? How can something that happened more than 2000 years ago - this life of one man make such a difference in all of time? Yet when we read the writings of others before his time we see hints or what is coming and we see how this might happen. If we read carefully, we see why Jesus' life and sacrifice made all the difference for us-no matter when we lived.

This is what Peter says at the end of today's reading: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

We are precious and our response can be-should be to tell people about the difference Jesus makes in our lives. A little further along Peter says we should always be prepared to "make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you." (1 Peter 3:15) This then is what I think he is working toward - be prepared to talk about why life is or can be different-and who makes that difference. Peace.
-see you tomorrow